With the adoption of the Real Estate Asset Management Plan (REAMP), the State Land Board set the direction for strategically managing lands to increase revenue into the Common School Fund. The plan lays out policy direction and management principles for the Department of State Lands (DSL), specifically the Asset Management Section, for its oversight of the board’s real estate portfolio.

The asset management team works on developing state lands classified as Industrial/Commercial/ Residential (ICR), and implements specific actions to enhance the value of all school lands. Currently, about 7,000 acres of ICR lands are actively managed, along with planning for about 250,000 acres of range and agricultural lands, and scattered range and forest parcels that have been identified for disposal. Most of the agency’s 130,000 acres of forestlands are managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry

Asset Management Plan

The REAMP plan lays out general policy direction and specific actions for increasing revenue for the Common School Fund. The overriding principles of the plan include:

Create a consistent and growing stream of revenue to increase distributions to schools.

Balance revenue enhancement and resource stewardship.

Rebalance the real estate portfolio and create reinvestment capital through acquiring assets with high performance potential and strategically disposing of selected assets.

Direct that rates for leases and other authorizations be reviewed and set at market values.

Target investment in lands with demonstrated appreciation potential.

Identify a new process to evaluate lands for sale and acquisition for highest and best use and for returns to the Common School Fund.

Assure that proposed investment in existing land assets will yield targeted returns on the investment.

Property under the Land Board’s jurisdiction is grouped into seven classes: Forestlands, Agricultural Lands, Rangelands, ICR lands, Special Stewardship Lands, Waterways, and Mineral and Energy Resources.

Central Oregon Management Plan (COAMP)The COAMP covers an area in Central Oregon that consists of portions of Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties. This Plan area includes 34 different sites representing approximately 7,400 acres.

These properties are Common School Fund (CSF) assets dedicated to supporting K-12 public schools statewide. CSF lands were granted to Oregon at statehood. The guidance and authority for this Central Oregon Area Management Plan (COAMP)derive from the 2006-2016 DSL Asset Management Plan as Implementation Priority # 8. Guidance includes: be organized by location, resource type or revenue generation; inventory as needed; be comprehensive; use established Department of State Lands (DSL) land classifications; establish specific land management strategies and implementation measures; maximize long-term CSF revenue; coordinate with other agencies; and include lessees, adjacent property owners and others in the process. More Information on the COAMP.

In-Lieu LandsMuch of the Asset Management Section’s work is in the Central Oregon area, which was targeted in the mid-1990s as a growing region of Oregon and therefore an economically desirable area for real estate investment.

When Oregon was admitted into the Union in 1859, the federal government granted sections 16 and 36 within every township to the state for support of public schools. However, if the federal government had already disposed of these specific sections or reserved them for some other purpose, the state is allowed to select other public lands “in-lieu” of the unavailable sections. In 1991, a U.S. District Court ruled that the State of Oregon was owed just over 5,202 acres of federal public domain lands in order to satisfy its statehood claims.

Since that ruling, DSL has been working with the Bureau of Land Management on selection of lands –in the Central Oregon region and elsewhere – to satisfy what has been owed to the state since 1859. DSL staff are seeking in-lieu lands which, over time, will maximize returns to the Common School Fund. More Information on In-Lieu Lands

Stevens Road TractStevens Road Tract – also known as Section 11 – is a 640-acre parcel located on the southeast edge of the City of Bend. An in-lieu parcel acquired in 1995, the property offers a significant investment opportunity to produce revenue for the Common School Fund over the long term. The master plan calls for a phased mixed-use development with an emphasis on various types of residential housing. Other areas are planned for retail, commercial, solar energy production and light industrial use. Significant areas are planned for open space, parks, trails and public facilities.

The plan also calls for the developments to be designed and constructed using sustainable development principles. The northwest 12 acres of the parcel are currently in Bend’s city limits and urban growth boundary, but have not been developed in order to have a unified plan for the entire tract. More Information on Stevens Road Tract

South Redmond TractSouth Redmond Tract is a 945-acre property near the Deschutes County Fairgrounds on the southern edge of Redmond. The property’s management plan, developed in collaboration with city planners and state and local economic development professionals, recommends the property be developed for large-lot industrial use.

A major part of the plan focuses on developing a “green technology” campus and integrating sustainability into all aspects of site planning, design, use and development. The property currently is not in the Redmond urban growth boundary. Part of this site is subject to a land trade with Deschutes County. More Information on South Redmond Tract

Ward Road ParcelWard Road Parcel, 40 acres of undeveloped land three miles east of the Stevens Road tract, is surrounded by rural-residential developed land. DSL proposes to build a rural subdivision – five lots of 2 to 21/2 acres – with 26+ acres reserved for open space and possible future development. Deschutes County gave planning approval for the property in 2010.

Forked Horn Butte SubdivisionForked Horn Butte Subdivision, acquired in December 2009, consists of a developed 20-acre subdivision with 63 lots, and 20 acres of undeveloped land within the Redmond city limits. The State Land Board approved the initiation of a review and determination of the potential sale with a target date in the spring of 2015.

The REAMP and state administrative rules (OAR 141-067) govern DSL’s land sales and exchange efforts and priorities. Any land sale or exchange is given careful and thoughtful consideration by the Asset Management Section, and must be approved by the State Land Board.

Staff are involved in land sales and exchanges in two ways: 1) handling applications initiated by a prospective purchaser or land exchange partner; and 2) those that are initiated by the Department to fulfill an Asset Management Plan strategy, area management plan or other legal obligation. The AMP directs DSL to dispose of approximately 12,000 acres of unleased, isolated rangelands; evaluate and process for disposal approximately 12,000 acres of scattered, unblocked forestlands; and sell certain filled lands.